Found
by SVUlover
Summary: Somehow, just when things are going great, there it is again, the problem that had split them up twice: another one of Mark's surprise children. Will this make Lexie run again...or could this surprise daughter just be another reason of many for her to stay? "I look at her, and her eyes just scream help me...she's broken, she needs someone."
1. Chapter 1

_"I love you. I've always been in love with you. I will always be in love with you. Which is why you have to stay alive," He pleaded, holding her hand for dear life, as though if he let go, she'd slip away. "We-we can get married," He promised, "And you're going to become an amazing surgeon," He spoke, knowing it was the truth, she would be, because this wasn't happening, it couldn't be. "And we're going to have two or three kids," He struggled out, fighting tears as he watched her own struggles._

_"S-So Sofia c-can have...s-siblings," Lexie slowly forced out._

_"Yea," Mark smiled, nodding, "A sister and two brothers. We're gonna be incredible, Lex, you and me. We're gonna have the best life, and we're gonna be so happy," He promised her. "So you can't die, ok? You can't die, because we're supposed to end up 're meant to be," He said, knowing that, too, was the truth. They had always been meant to be, put on earth to find each other._

_"Meant to be," She whispered, smiling, before she went still._

"Mark, I'm ok, wake up!"

_He sobbed, reaching to her, his chest aching with pain as she slipped away, as he felt her hand go limp in his. "I love you, I love you," He cried._

"Mark, it's ok, come on, wake up!"

_"I love you," He cried, refusing to let go, feeling as though his heart had been ripped out._

"Mark!"

He woke with a start, eyes shooting open, heart beating rapidly, and with tears in his eyes. But, despite the nightmare, there she was. She was sitting on the edge of their bed beside him wrapped in a towel, her wet hair in a messy bun, and leaning over him, a concerned look upon her face as a gentle hand rested on his chest.

"Lexie," He whispered in relief, sitting up, his hands moving from her hands, to her face, to her waist, pulling her to him, his arms wrapping around her, holding her tight.

"I'm right here," She said gently, hugging him back, "It was just the dream. I'm fine."

"It always seems so real," He murmurs, inhaling her scent, the smell of the strawberry shampoo she used. "It could have been real, Lex."

"But it wasn't, it's not," She said, leaning back to look up at him. "The plane only landed on my leg, and it has long since healed."

"A few feet over, and there could have been a completely different outcome," He pointed out. "I could have lost you, before we got all of this." He said.

She smiled softly, "But you didn't. I'm not going anywhere, ever again. We're building a house together, for you and me, and Callie, Arizona, and Sofia. We're getting married in two months," She reminded him, holding up her left hand, which was home to the white gold, diamond engagement ring he'd given to her six months ago. It had been on the two month anniversary of the plane crash, when she'd gotten the cast off of her leg.

"I know, and I wouldn't change what we have now for anything." He said. "I just can't help thinking..."

"I know." She agreed. "Those two days were awful for all of us. You did almost die, Mark! I watched Meredith, Cristina and Derek operate on your heart using a spray pump, in the middle of a plane crash site! Arizona could have died and still has trouble walking sometimes, Derek is still months away from doing any brain surgery, Cristina's PTSD has only gotten worse, and Meredith battled that infection from the glass she pulled out of her leg, and wakes up screaming sometimes. We were all changed by the crash, but if it didn't happen, we might not be together," She pointed out. "It sucked, and we're all different, but we all made it through together. You and I made it through together, and we just have to remember that."

Slowly, he nodded, all while looking at her. "I know. I love you, Lex." He said softly. She smiled, leaning up to kiss him.

"I love you, too."

xXxXx

"Mark keeps having the dream." Lexie says that afternoon, sitting at a table with Meredith and Cristina in the cafeteria.

After the crash, Cristina and Meredith both decided to stay at Seattle Grace. Cristina because she needed the support of Owen, and Meredith because after what had happened, she couldn't bring herself to leave home, or to leave Lexie and Cristina. It was a small factor that because Derek was unable to do surgery for a while, Harvard didn't have a job for him. Cristina was now a cardiothoracic fellow, working under Teddy who had also decided to stay, and Meredith was an attending general surgeon, alongside Bailey and Webber.

It was part guilt, but mostly not wanting to leave the only family he had after almost losing them all that had made Alex chose to do his fellowship in peds at Seattle Grace, and so he was still there, too. Owen had had a change of heart and rehired April to repeat her last year of residency, and Jackson decided to stay wherever she was.

"What, the one where you die?" Cristina asks, while blankly staring off into space.

"Yea," Lexie said, "I feel awful."

"It's not your fault, Lexie," Meredith shrugs, "I'm sure it'll go away eventually. Don't feel bad, it's not in your control."

"It's not like you're actually leaving him." Cristina points out, "You're marrying the guy in eight weeks."

"Seven weeks and four days," Lexie says automatically, only to have Cristina give her a look. "What? I can be excited, I'm getting married!"

"She's the only one out of us to actually have a real wedding, you know," Meredith said randomly.

"I had a wedding!" Cristina says.

"I mean in a church with the white dress, the reception with the big cake and the whole shebang kind of wedding," Meredith says. "The kind of wedding most girls dream of, but made me cringe."

Cristina was about to open her mouth when all of their pagers suddenly went off simultaneously.

"Altman." Cristina said, standing, while the two sisters both said, "ER."

The three of them got up and hurried, Cristina heading in the opposite direction of the two sisters.

"Are you nervous?" Meredith asked as they walked together.

"Not really." Lexie said honestly. "I mean it'll be kinda weird walking down the aisle in front of all those people...but I'm not nervous for what it means, vowing to be with him forever. Because I know it's what's right. We're meant to be together." She says, smiling, "We've had a lot of bumps in the road, but I just know this is right." She said, sure of herself as they reached the ER.

"Good," Meredith smiled, glad that her sister was happy.

They separated, Meredith heading over to a intern that had paged her, and Lexie to the one that had paged her.

"Fourteen year old female, nasty wound to the head," the intern briefed her, "I wasn't sure if we should page Shepard, do a CT-"

"You just said the words nasty head wound to me, of course we should do a CT!" Lexie said exclaimed, taking the chart from him, sighing, pushing the curtain back.

The girl that sat on the examination table, gauze taped messily to her forehead, and a woman stood behind her to the side, looking incredibly nervous.

"Hi Alexa, I'm Doctor Grey," Lexie said, glancing down at the chart for her name.

"Ali," The teenager corrected softly, looking up to meet Lexie's eyes. "Call me Ali." She said.

Lexie smiled at her, "Ali, then," She said, filling with concern. The small smile that Ali gave her didn't reach her eyes, but not only that, anyone could see clear pain in her eyes, pain caused emotionally. It wasn't just the look in her eyes that got to Lexie though, it was her eyes themselves, they looked so familiar to her. "What happened, Ali?" Lexie asked, putting on gloves before reaching up and gently peeling the gauze off.

"She tripped," The woman with her said before she could say anything. "She's always been clumsy," she said, nervous.

"I'm a dancer." Ali said under her breath, "I'm not clumsy."

"And you are?" Lexie asked, glancing up at Ali briefly, as she inspected the wound.

"Claire Reynolds, her mother. And that cut on her face probably needs stitches, and I don't want any doctor doing it, I want a plastic surgeon to go it, I can't have her face scared." Ms. Reynolds insisted. "She's gorgeous, and it would ruin her to have a big, ugly scar," She shuddered.

Already annoyed by this woman, Lexie mumbled to the intern to page Mark. "Ok, Ali, I'm gunna clean this up for you, and our head of plastic surgery is going to come take a look at it, and then we're gunna do a CT scan, to make sure there's nothing wrong inside your head from the uh, fall." She said.

"Is there a bathroom here?" Claire asked suddenly.

"Yes, uh...Kevin," Lexie said, stopping another intern, "Show Ms Reynolds to the bathroom please."

Once she was gone, Lexie turned back to Ali, and began cleaning the wound.

"She's probably going to smoke." Ali said, knowing what Lexie would say, used to the questions. She'd been to a lot of hospitals, and had to avoid a lot of questions. "She smokes a lot."

"Hopefully she doesn't set off the fire alarms," Lexie commented, as she gently cleaned the wound on her head.

"She'll lean out the window." Ali shrugged.

"Well while she's doing that, do you maybe want to tell me how you really got hurt?" She asked gently, praying that this girl would tell her, so she could help her. It was so, so clear that she needed help, and Lexie felt some strange pull to her, a need to help her.

"I hate that question." Ali said, "I get it a lot. For a long time, I went along with her stories, her blatant lies. I was little. She was my mom." She told Lexie, voice quiet. She was silent for a period, before she spoke. "Her husband pushed me, and I hit my head on the corner of the doorway." Ali said quietly. "She doesn't want anyone finding out because she can only see me for six hours every week, and he isn't supposed to be there because there's an order of protection."

The anger that burned inside of Lexie every time she heard about child abusers intensified, and keeping her voice even, she asked, "You don't live with her?"

"I did, until three months ago. I live in foster care now, because she won't leave him." Ali said, voice bitter. "My social worker has to drop me off at a meeting spot for visits with my mom."

"Should I call your social worker?"

"There's no need, I'm here," A woman said, approaching. She looked frazzled, and stressed, but worried. "I'm Julie King, Ali's case worker." She said.

"Doctor Grey, I've been taking care of her." Lexie said, smiling at her.

"Ali, what happened this time, and where the hell is your mother?" Julie asked the teenager gently.

"Julie!" Claire said with fake happiness and clear nervousness, "I was just about to call you."

"Sure you were, Claire," Julie said, "What happened now? Why is it that most of the time I leave her with you, she comes back with more damages than before!"

"Doctor Grey," A familiar voice boomed from behind Lexie, silencing the arguing women, and she smiled, turning to face him. "Doctor Sloan, thank you for coming. This is Ali, fourteen. Her mother requested that the plastic surgeon take care of the wound on her forehead, before we send her to CT."

"I want another plastic surgeon." Claire said from behind Lexie, and she turned to see that Claire had stepped in front of Ali. "Now."

"Ms. Reynolds, Doctor Sloan is the head of our plastic surgery department, he's the best we have," Lexie assured her, confused at the women's sudden change in demeanor.

"So get me the second best." Claire snapped.

"Claire, you have no say in who gives Ali medical care, so move the hell out of the way so the man can give her stitches," Julie hissed, "We need to talk anyways."

"Claire," A stunned Mark said softly, shocked look on his face.

"You know her?" Lexie asked, confused, looking up at her fiance, before freezing in realization. Looking into Mark's eyes, she realized why Ali's eyes were so familiar, because she looked into them every day, because they were the same eyes as his.

"Claire, I don't care what past you have with the doctor, let him take care of your daughter," Julie ordered, pulling her out of the way.

Her view of Ali no longer blocked, Lexie looked from her to Mark, from Mark to her, and as she did, the similarities only became more prominent.

"I want him away from her," Claire demanded, "Now! I'll take her to another hospital, I just want him away from my daughter!"

"My daughter." Mark said, knowing by just looking at her, but also be the actions Claire was taking, the clear desire to get Ali ar away from him. "You want me away because you left fifteen years ago, and took my kid with you!"

* * *

So, this is my first attempt at a Grey's story. I hope there's interest in it! To clarify if there's some confusion for some reason: the events of the season 8 finale happened, just differently, of course. Lexie is alive and well (besides the shock xD) because, well, I still refuse to accept that she's dead. So she's alive, and all of our favorite doctors aren't going anywhere, no moving away! This story will be Slexie centered, but include everyone as characters! So I hope you liked this chapter, let me know if I should continue!

-Jen


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you guys so much for all the wonderful reviews! I did not expect to get so much positive feedback so quickly, it means so much to me. I'm so glad you like it! Please continue to let me know what you think, it helps a lot! :) **

**-Jen**

* * *

Ali's mouth dropped open at Mark's revelation, and she looked from her mother, who had a guilty, angry look on her face; to Mark, an angry look on his own face as he glared at Caire. Beside him, Lexie's mind was whirling, trying to handle this. Somehow, here it was again, the very same problem that had split them up twice before: another one of Mark's surprise children.

"I left because I was pregnant...that doesn't mean it's your kid." Claire said, Julie preventing her from getting near Ali again.

"Stop trying to cover yourself, mom!" Ali snapped, before Mark could say anything back, "Just stop! It's making you look like an idiot, because everyone can see the resemblance!"

Shutting her eyes, taking a deep breath, Claire turned towards Ali, finally getting past Julia. "Alexa," She said, voice pleading, resting a hand gently on her arm, but Ali cut her off.

"No!" She cried out, pushing her away, "No, you don't get to do this again!" She cried out, "You don't get to do something wrong, and then turn into this and try to make me feel bad, because that's what you always do!" She shouted.

"Something wrong?" Claire exclaimed, "Just what did I do that was so wrong this time!"

"You lied to me!" Ali shrieked, tears falling down her face, "You lied to me for fourteen years! You told me that my own father didn't want me!" She cried, "I was a little kid asking why I didn't have a daddy like all the other kids, and you told me he didn't want me!"

"He didn't!" Claire insisted, "Ali, I was protecting you."

Before Mark could defend himself, Ali spoke again. "Who said he didn't, mom? Him, or you? Because it sounds like you made the choice for him, and it wasn't your choice to make! Maybe he would have wanted me, if he knew I existed!" She screamed through her tears.

"What is going on here?" Owen demanded, having heard the commotion.

"Alexa came in with a head injury because her step father pushed her even though she's not supposed to be around him, and Ms. Reynold's wanted a plastic surgeon to take care of the cut on her face, and so Mark came down, and guess what?" Lexie exclaimed, rambling, Mark remembering, through his shock, that Lexie was here, that now everything they had would probably crumble to the ground, again. "Claire just so happens to be Mark's ex, that ran off without telling him that she was pregnant with his kid!"

"Are you alright on this case, Doctor Grey?" Owen asked pointedly.

"Oh I'm fine," Lexie shrugged, "I mean, I should be used to this by now, right?" She asked sarcastically, looking up at Mark.

Mark looked back at her, pleading with his eyes. She couldn't run, not again, not after all they'd been through. He was about to plead, beg her not to, to talk to him, but Owen spoke before he could.

"Someone needs to give Alexa sutures, and take her up for CT. Page Avery, and have him do it." Owen ordered to an intern, who nodded.

"I can do it," Lexie sighed, "I'm really fine, Chief, I can take care of her."

"You said she wanted plastics, I'm getting plastics Grey." Owen said.

"I can do it," Mark said, "I'm fine."

"No you can't, Sloan, and you know it." Owen sighed. "Now, I appreciate the fact that this is difficult for everyone involved, but my ER can't be turned into a screaming match. There's injured, sick people in here, including this girl. Mark, why don't you discuss this with Ms. Reynold's in the conference room."

"That'd be perfect," Julie said, before Mark could, jumping at the possibility that she could get this poor girl out of foster care. "Let's go, Claire, let Ali be taken care of."

"We can't just leave her." Claire said stubbornly.

"You never cared about that before." Ali muttered. "You've done nothing but leave me my whole life! Leave me to get drunk, leave me because you can't stand being around me, you let them take me away because you chose your drunk, disgusting husband that beats the crap out of both of us over me!"

"Don't talk about him like that," Claire said sharply.

"No, I'll talk about him like that because it's the truth! I'm done telling stories for you, I'm done lying to the hundreds of doctors I've had to see because of what you've let him do to me, I'm done trying to protect you because you never did anything for me!" Ali cried. "The only thing you've done for me was lie to me for fourteen years and let him hurt me."

Before Claire could respond, Julie took her arm. "Don't say a word, Claire. Doctor Sloan, would you mind joining us as he suggested?"

"I'll stay with her," Lexi said softly, surprising Mark and Owen. "She's right, she shouldn't be alone, I'll stay with her." She explained.

Mark looked at her for a moment, his confusion clear. "I'll be back," He said after a moment, to Lexie, and then he said it again, looking at Ali. "I will be back." He said to her, a promise, before he led the way.

During the fight, blood had come out of the wound on Ali's forehead, and so Lexie picked up the gauze, and gently dabbed at it. She wanted to be mad, she really did. How many surprise kids out there did Mark have? How many times was this going to come up?

But looking at this girl, with Ali right in front of her, she couldn't be mad. Not at her, at least. And part of her couldn't even be mad at Mark, either. For a long time, Lexie had been mad at Sloan for showing up out of the blue, when she had had a perfectly good mother before she went and got pregnant. She'd been mad at Sloan for appearing and bringing her baby with her, giving Mark ideas about marriage, and raising a baby together, of making her a grandmother before she even turned thirty. When it came to Sofia, Lexie had been livid at Mark. For getting her in that position twice, for sleeping with Callie, for expecting her to be ok with it. (She'd gotten over her aversion to Sofia, in fact, she adored her soon to be step daughter). Both times, she'd been mad at him for just springing it on her, not even talking to her about anything.

This time, though, she couldn't be mad at the child. Ali hadn't don't anything, but had everything done to her. Just looking at her, you could see how alone and broken she was, and what she'd yelled at her mother made it even more clear. The jealous part of Lexie, the part that didn't want Mark to have any more children unless they were with her wanted to be mad, But she couldn't. She couldn't be mad at Mark, because he hadn't known. He wasn't that good an actor, that shock and anger was real. He hadn't known, and this time, he hadn't yet had the time to make promises and plans without discussing them with her.

So she couldn't be mad, but she could care, she had to, because this girl needed someone to care about her.

"Ali, are you ok?" She asked gently.

"I was five." Ali said softly after a moment. "That was the first time I asked her why I didn't have a daddy. Most mothers would've come up with some story, but mine just looked at me and said 'because he didn't want you.'" Ali said, looking up at Lexie, tears swimming in her eyes. "What mother does that, even if it is the truth? What mother could look her child in the eyes and just tell her that her father didn't want her? But it wasn't even the truth! She lied, she lied to me about my father! I went ten years accepting that, but then bam, he just shows up in a hospital ER, as the doctor."

"He's a good man," Lexie said after a moment, unable to think of anything else to say. "He really is."

"What did you mean when you said you should be used to this by now?" Ali asked, surprising Lexie with her attention.

"Uh, well...he, Mark, is my fiancee. We've had an...up and down relationship, but it's up right now! Very, very, happily up. I mean...on. We're getting married in two months." Lexie rambled. "And he has a, for the most part estranged, twenty year old daughter, and he also has an almost two year old little girl, Sofia, with his lesbian best friends. And I really shouldn't be telling you this, he should, so I'm going to stop talking!" She said, knowing it probably wasn't her place.

"How old are you?" Ali inquired.

"Yea we get that question a lot," Lexie laughed nervously, unable to determine why she's nervous. "I'm twenty nine," she said said, "And to answer what's probably your next question, Mark is forty three. But he tells everyone he's thirty five because he feels old." She rambled, "And I ramble a lot, sorry!"

"It's ok," Ali smiled softly, "At least you talk to me like I'm a person, and not a thing."

"Doctor Grey, I was paged?" Jackson asks, coming over.

"Yea," Lexie said, not looking away from Ali, heart aching at what she said. "Ali, this is Doctor Avery, he's going to be doing your stitches."

Jackson made polite small talk with her as he took the time to carefully suture the cut on her head. Once he'd placed a bandage over it, Lexie asked, "Do you mind taking her to CT, I need to talk to Mark, it's important."

The tone of her voice must've compelled him to agree, because he agreed to without trouble, so she turned to Ali. "Ok, Ali, I'm going to go talk to Mark. I'll be there by the time you're done with your CT, I promise. Is that ok with you?"

Ali nodded, and so Lexie smiled and turned to go, only for her to grab her arm. "Wait," She said, "You're going to come back, right? And him...he'll come back, right? I mean, it'd be nice to at least get to talk to him once."

Lexie took her hand, and squeezed it gently. "I'll be back, I'll be waiting when you're done with the head scans. And once hes done figuring things out or whatever he's doing with your mother, he will come back to you. I promise, Ali, you'll get to talk to him."

"Ok," Ali said quietly, nodding, letting her go. "Alright."

Lexie waited to go, choosing to walk down to CT with them, before heading to the conference room. She had to talk to him, needed to be included in the decisions he was going to be making, and needing to say something, to talk to him. As she headed over, she couldn't help but thinking how fast things could change. This morning, their life had seemed so simple and easy, as easy and simple as two doctor's lives could be. It hadn't even been twenty-four hours, but so much had just changed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi everyone! Thank you so much for your amazing reviews, I'm o glad you're all liking this! Please continue to let me know what you think, I appreciate your feedback more than I can tell you. I apologize that chapters have been kinda short. I try to make them longer, but I just have to end it where it feels right =/ I try to update frequently though! Enjoy :)  
**

**-Jen**

* * *

A thousand things he could say to this woman ran through his mind as Mark led the way to the conference room. A thousand things that he could yell, or scream. When Sloan had shown up, the transition had started, but now, since having Sofia he was all about being the best dad possible. The fact that he'd had another daughter out there, unknown to him for fourteen years killed him, especially because it sounded like Claire had put her through hell.

Claire had been another one of those girls, one of the many girlfriends he'd had. He was finishing up his residency and heading into a fellowship, she'd been the barista at the coffee shop in the hospital, working while she attended college. She was twenty one, he'd been nearing thirty, Lexie's age. Then, one day, she'd just disappeared. He'd gotten over it quickly. But now he knew why.

They reached the conference room, and he gestured them in, holding the door, following in after. "Have a seat," He said, trying to sound polite, holding in everything he wanted to say to her.

"Thank you, Doctor Sloan," the woman with Claire said. "I'm Julie, Alexa's case worker." Julie introduced, shaking his hand.

"Mark Sloan, and evidently I'm her father," He said, glaring at Claire. "How could you just run away and not tell me I had a kid?"

"Oh, don't try to tell me that anything would have changed, Mark. You were a man whore trying to become an amazing hot shot doctor, and I was just biding time in college because I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life besides have fun!" Claire exclaimed, "I wanted a kid, and marriage, and commitment about as much as I wanted my fucking stomach pumped!"

"Who said anything about marriage?" Mark exclaimed, "I just would've liked the option to know my own daughter!"

"If I had told my parents that I was pregnant, and you were still in the picture, they would've forced us to get married." Claire said, "Their religious asses would have forced us to get married, so I told them I didn't know who the father was. I told them I wanted an abortion, but they wouldn't let me, and I got stuck with a kid when I was twenty-one years old."

"Stuck with a kid?" Mark yelled, "You talk about her like she's some disease, like she's detrimental to your life, but she's your child, Claire! Is this how you've treated her for the past fourteen years?"

"I love her." Claire said helplessly, "I love her, I just...I was never cut out for this!"

"You could've been, Claire, you just didn't want to be." Julie said softly. "You know what I have to do, don't you? You've violated the order of protection that was put in place as a plea deal. Your husband is going to jail, and your custody will be revoked, she'll be permanently surrendered to the state."

"What if there's someone willing to take her?" Mark asked, panicking.

"She's not yours to take!" Claire said, knowing what he was thinking, "Your name isn't even on her birth certificate, she's my daughter!"

"Pending a hearing to establish paternity, if he is financially, physically, and emotionally able to care for a child, they will place her in his care and give him custody before making her a ward of the state, Claire. They want to keep children with their parents, not in foster care. So yes, Doctor Sloan," Julia said, "Considering your profession will make you able to financially provide for a child, and pending that you pass a judge's questioning, it's likely that they would give you full legal custody of her."

"No," Claire said, "No, I won't allow it, she's mine, not his, MINE!"

Before Mark could retort, there was a knock on the door, Lexie leaned in. "Sorry to uh, interrupt." She said, "Mark, can I speak to you, please? Now? It's important."

"I need to talk to Claire, so please, go," Julie said.

Mark nodded. "I'll be back." He said, excusing himself. His heart was beating nervously as he followed Lexie to an empty on call room where they could talk privately. She flicked the light on as they went in, and sat on the edge of the lower bunk, looking at her hands as he shut the door, and turned to face her. "Please, please tell me you didn't bring me here to throw that at me and leave me again." He pleaded, sitting beside her, gesturing to the engagement ring on her finger. "Because I can't handle losing you again, Lex. I need you."

"I didn't bring you here to break off the engagement, Mark. Less than an hour ago, I was telling Mer about how so sure I was about the wedding, and vowing to be with you forever. Because I am," she said truthfully, looking over at him. "I want to be with you forever, I love you, I love you so much. I'm infected by Mark Sloan, remember?" she whispered, and he smiled, remembering her rambling that night, that night she told him she was still in love with him.

"But?" He said, feeling it in the air, knowing it was coming.

"I'm not leaving you, I'm not mad at you because it's not like you knew, and it's not like you've made life altering decisions without consulting me first, and I'm not even mad at Ali, I'm just...mad," she said, tears overflowing. "I'm mad because that girl has been through hell, and that woman, her mother, is the one who put her through it. I'm mad that she kept you from your daughter. I'm mad that there's people like that in the world! I'm mad that there's another kid of yours out there that isn't mine, because it means that's one more person you've slept with that wasn't me." She cried helplessly. "And I know, it's ridiculous of me to feel that way considering I was like, four when you were eighteen and all, but...how many are there, Mark? How many kids are going to turn up that are yours, but aren't mine? Do we get to have any that are ours? Because you and Callie, and Arizona have this bond because of Sofia. The three of you, you are parents, your're her parents, and it's a bond that I feel like I'm never going to get to have with you because now you already have three kids."

"Lexie," he said gently, his hands gently resting on her face, wiping the tears away, "You knew that you weren't the first one I've been with, the first one I loved. You knew that, but you need to know and understand that that doesn't matter, because you're the last. You're the last one I will be with, the last one I will love." He promised, "You're the only one that will be forever, and that's what matters. None of the others matter, and they haven't since I met you. I love you, Lexie, with everything I have." He said, "Don't ever doubt that. And of course we will get to experience that together. Once we're married, and you're ready, we can have as many kids as you want! Anything you want, Lexie, I will give it to you." He promised, "Let's have ten kids!"

She laughed through the tears, leaning into him, letting her head rest against his chest. "I don't think that ten kids would like living in the five bedroom house we're building."

"They can live with it. Or we can add on later," He smiled.

"I don't think my body would like housing ten kids," She said next, laughing. "Maybe three."

"Whatever you want." He promised. After a short, comfortable silence, he said, "The social worker said that Claire's husband's going to jail and that...that Claire will lose custody, and Alexa will become a ward of the state, unless there's someone that wants her."

After a moment, not moving out of his arms, she asked, "Would they give you custody?"

"She said probably, yea," He told her quietly.

She took a deep breath, gently leaning away so she could look up at him. "Then you should do it, Mark."

"Really?" He asked, kind of surprised.

"Really." She says, nodding. "Earlier, I just...I look at her, and her eyes just scream help me, Mark...she's broken, the poor girl is broken and she needs someone. She needs love and stability, people she can lean on. She needs you. Us...she needs us." She said. "It'll take some getting used to, but if you want to, then I will support you one hundred percent. We can do this together."

It took a minute, for her words to sink in. He'd come in expecting her to scream, throw the ring at him, and leave him, but instead she'd cried, revealed her feelings somewhat calmly, and wanted to do this. She was still there, not going anywhere. "Thank you," He said, pulling her close once again, kissing her. "Thank you." He said again.

She hugged him back, happily accepted the kiss by returning it, praying to whatever God there was that this was going to workout right.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello, all! Thanks for coming back again, and for the great reviews! I adore hearing what you all think, so please continue to let me know! This chapters a bit longer than the others (yay!)! I hope you enjoy it, now I'm off to go watch some Grey's with Slexie happiness on Netflix :)!  
**

**-Jen**

* * *

Hand in hand, Mark and Lexie went back to the conference room together, heading inside. Julie was sitting at the table, looking exhausted, sick of dealing with Claire, who was pacing, angry.

"Oh wonderful!" She snapped when Mark and Lexie entered, him holding the door for her before his fingers laced through hers again. "You're with her, are you? You really like them younger, don't you, Mark? What are you? Twenty?" She sneered at Lexie. "You think that a girl barely out of her teen years can raise my kid better than I can? But wait, she'll just be around for a while, before you move on to your next useless girlfriend!"

"I'm twenty-nine, actually, Ms. Reynolds. I'm twenty-nine years old, and to be completely honest, I think a monkey could raise your kid better than you've been doing it." Lexie said, dripping with fake friendliness, "And I'm not his girlfriend, I'm his fiancee!" She snapped.

"Oh yippee for you," Claire snapped, "You don't know a damn thing about being a parent, Mark."

"And you do?" Lexie retorted, "A doctor just had to stitch your daughter's skin together and scan her brain to check for damages because of your husband! She makes it sound like he knows a lot better than you do, Claire, because he's got a daughter, she's almost two. And he treats that little girl like a princess, she's his world, and never once has he laid a finger on her in a negative or harmful manner."

"I was six."

They all turned in surprise to the door, where Alexa stood, having just vacated a wheelchair pushed by Jackson. "It took less time than I thought and Hunt said to bring her here," He said apologetically."

"Thank you," Lexie said, placing a gentle hand on Ali's shoulder, "I'm sorry I wasn't there when you got out."

"It's ok." She said, giving her a small smile. Mark dismissed Jackson who left, the door shutting behind him.

"What about when you were six?" Julie asked Ali, who stepped forward, in front of Claire.

"That was how old I was the first time I had to help you because you were drunk." She said, looking at her mother. "I was six and I had to help your drunk self off the floor and to the couch. I was six and I made sure you didn't choke on your own puke. I was six, and I was taking care of you," She said. "And that was only the first time of many."

"So I drank a little too much sometimes," Claire shrugged in her defense, "That's not a crime. You know what happens to kids in foster care, Alexa? A lot worse than helping your mother. Because that's where you'll be, foster care."

"She'll be with us!" Mark shouted at Claire, "She's my daughter, she'll be with us where she belongs!"

"I know what happens to kids in some foster homes," Ali answered her mother's question, telling herself to ignore what Mark had said. She didn't want to believe him. He wouldn't do that, take her in. He couldn't care, he didn't even know her. Her mother had been around her whole life, and she clearly didn't care. "But you know what mom, it's nothing worse than what happened to me at home, while you were drunk."

"Ali..." Julie said softly, "What are you saying?"

"I don't sleep, mom, did you know that?" Ali said, crying now, "I don't sleep at night, because everytime I close my eyes, I see what happened when you got drunk. I see him, looming over me, I remember him touching me, I remember it all and it hurts so much, it terrifies me." She cries.

Lexie feels Mark stiffen beside her, and she looks up, he's rigid with rage. "Calm down," She says so soft only he can hear, holding tight to his hand. "Don't do anything that'll jeopardize your chance."

"So I don't sleep, I haven't slept in a long time. I drink coffee, coffee with espresso shots. And energy drinks, which are gross by the way, and anything with caffeine. I do all that so I don't have to sleep. I do homework and stay up reading so I don't sleep, because even not in the same house as him, I feel so unsafe, like he's just hiding in the shadows waiting to hurt me again. I cried for you, I screamed for you!" Ali shouted, crying hard now, "I begged you to help me, but you just went into the other room and got drunk! You let him hit me, and punch me, and kick me, you let him m-molest me." She sobbed, "You let him do all of that. You never took care of me, mom, but I always took care of you!" She cried, body shaking. She didn't know what was making her reveal all of this now. She knew that if her father and the nice doctor had wanted her, they didn't now, but she suddenly didn't care anymore. She'd lied to her and done nothing to help her ever, and she was done hiding it all.

Sick to her stomach behind Alexa, Lexie was still holding tight to Mark, while fighting her own anger. Claire was looking at Ali, an unreadable expression on her face. Julie was shocked at this new news, and also looked sick.

"When we lived in New York, before the doctors and cops got too suspicious and you moved across the country, I'd walk around the city and think about how much easier it would be to just end it all. I'd go down to the subway, and sit there watching the trains go by, and just think of how much easier it would be in just a few seconds. How all the pain would just be over, just like that." She cried, "I was twelve, and I was thinking of killing myself, because of you, because of him!" She screamed, "I was twelve, and I wrote suicide notes, and went to the subway station, and sat there looking at the trains going by, trying to force myself to do it, just so I wouldn't have to go back home to you getting drunk while your husband abused me!"

"S-she's crazy!" Claire said, "She's crazy, she's not fit to be around people, so just commit her, no one will have her!" Claire said.

"I'm not crazy," Ali said through her tears, "I have every right to be considering what you put me through, but I'm not. I didn't do it, mom, I never did It. I never did it because I told myself one day, you'd both get what was coming, that I'd see you pay for this. I told myself that there was another side, and I'd get there eventually. I didn't do it. I got on the train, and went to dance, and tried to forget. I'd dance and listen to the music and try to forget that only hours later, I'd have to go home to the same personal hell that I lived in. Do you have any idea what it's like to be afraid to go to your own home? To know that your own mother doesn't care enough to even try to protect you?" Ali sobbed, "You were supposed to love me, you were supposed to care, but you didn't even try, you turned your back on me!"

"He threatened to kill you and them himself if I ever did anything!" Claire shouted at her, "And I couldn't lose him!"

Ali looked at her, the tears falling silently down her face. She knew that that hadn't been a mistake. She'd said what she meant. She'd let her be molested and abused, she'd taken the hits herself, because he'd threatened to kill her and commit suicide. She'd allowed it because she wanted to protect him.

In the aftermath, realizing what she'd said, Claire whispered, "You, Ali, I meant I couldn't lose y-you."

"No you didn't." Ali whispered.

A knock on the door interrupted, and Owen stepped in. "Uh, Ms. King, these detectives were asking for you." He said, allowing a man and woman to enter.

"Yes, thank you." Julie nodded.

"What the hell is this?" Claire hissed.

"You violated the order of protection, and you allowed your daughter to be abused in your care," The female detective said. "Julie texted us, Mrs. Reynolds and you are under arrest for violating a court order, and for the emotional and physical abuse and endangerment of a minor. you have the right to remain silent, as anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law. You have the right to an attorney, if you can't afford you than one will be provided for you. Do you understand these rights as I've read them to you?" She said firmly, as handcuffs were slapped onto her wrists.

"Yes." Claire said through clenched teeth. "Get me out of here, I don't want to look at her anymore," she added. The detectives complied, and as they walked by Alexa, wide eyed in shock, Claire said, "I hope you're happy, you ungrateful brat."

Once they reached the door and she found her voice, Ali said softly, "I am."

"Ali," Julie said gently, putting a hand on her shoulder, "I'm glad you finally came clean about what happened. I wish you would've told me sooner. You don't have to protect her anymore, and you don't have to be afraid, ok? More detectives are bringing Jim in as we speak."

"What happens now?" Ali whispers, unable to believe that any of this was happening.

"There will be an arraignment, and probably a trial. It should be easy to get your mother's rights actually terminated now." Julie explained.

"So what'll happen to me?" She said, and Julie looked to Mark.

He stepped forward cautiously, Lexie beside him. "I meant what I said, Ali." He said gently, "I'm your dad. You're my daughter, and we want you to come live with us. I will fight as hard as I can to get custody, and I will always be there for you, for the rest of your life." He promised, trying hard not to cry because Mark Sloan didn't cry. He wanted to, knowing that if Claire had mentioned that she was pregnant, his daughter wouldn't have gone through hell. Knowing he could've given her so much better. "I know it must be a lot to take in, but if you're comfortable with it, if it's what you want, we want you."

"You're not even thirty." Ali said softly, looking to Lexie. "You want a fourteen year old step daughter?"

"I want you to have what you deserve," Lexie said, meaning it, "I want you to have a real family, a loving family, people you can turn to, and a chance to have the amazing future you deserve. And we will give it to you, Ali. I can't promise you that I know how to be a goot mother figure to a teenager, but I will try my best to be whatever you need me to be, I just want to show you what a real family is."

"I don't know much about being a dad to a teenage girl, either." Mark put in, "I have two other daughters, but one I never really knew, and the other one is only two. But I will do my best. I know the most important thing, and that's that I love you. You're my kid, and I should've been there for you, I would've protected you, I would've killed him!" He exclaimed, "But now, I can promise you that I will protect you, and no one will ever hurt you again."

"You don't know me," Ali said helplessly, "You didn't know about me, you don't know anything about me besides the fact that I'm screwed up, and you love me and want to do all this for me, but she never cared and she gave birth to me," She cried.

Wanting to hug her, try to comfort her, but unsure if he should, he hesitantly asked, "Is it ok if I hug you?" She looked surprised at the question, and nervous, but two seconds later, she nodded, moving forward, and in a second he had his arms around her. It felt right, there was no doubt in his mind that she was his daughter.

Unfortunately their moment was cut short when moments later, she suddenly went rigid in his arms, before collapsing against him, seizing.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys! I'm so sorry this took so long, but better late than never? =/ Time got away from me, I had a bit of writers block, but here we are. This chapter is longer than the others, so hopefully that makes up a bit for the wait!? I'm going to try my hardest to update in a timely manner for the next chapter, I promise! Please let me know what you think!  
**

**Thanks! Enjoy!  
**

**-Jen  
**

* * *

Panic settled itself inside of Mark, as he carefully lowered a seizing Ali to the floor, rolling her on her side. He quickly scrambled out of his lab coat, rolling it up and placing it under her head. Lexie, also panicking, spotted Kevin the intern walking by through the glass wall of the conference room, and she hurried to the door. "Kevin," She barked, "Get a rush on the CTs for Alexa Reynolds, get them to me like, right now, and page Shepard and Robbins! Tell them I don't care who they are seeing, what is on their schedule, they need to be here an hour ago!"

Although Derek couldn't operate, he was still head of neuro, and still Lexie's mentor.

"On it!" Kevin called, running off.

"What's happening?!" Julie asked, scared.

"She's having a seizure," Lexie said, "I'm hoping the CT will tell us why."

Derek and Arizona arrived, with the CT, just as Ali stopped seizing a few minutes later, and began regaining consciousness. "What's going on?" Derek asked Lexie, worried.

"Who's Alexa Reynolds?" Arizona asks, confused.

"And why is she the most important person in this hospital?" Derek added.

"She's a fourteen year old girl, had a really bad head injury and she's had a seizure." Lexie said, hurrying them in.

"And she's the most important person in the hospital because she's your niece." Mark put in, kneeling on the floor beside Ali. "Derek, Arizona, this is Ali. She's my daughter."

"Long story short," Lexie began before they could ask questions, "Mark dated Claire about fifteen years ago, she got pregnant and left, her Catholic parents made her keep a kid she never wanted, she never told Mark, and the gross women has let her daughter be abused on many levels by her bastard husband for the past I don't know how many years, she came in because the bastard pushed her and caused a head injury, Avery gave her stitches and we had a CT, she just had a seizure. And oh yea, the mother was just arrested, and Mark and I are petitioning for custody." Lexie said quickly.

"Never a dull day around here, is there?" Arizona said. "Wow."

"What happened?" Ali asked, confusion and pain on her face as she sat up slowly with Mark's support. "My head hurts...a lot," She moaned, pushing her long auburn hair away from her face.

"You had a seizure," Mark said, talking softly, "Probably a result of the head injury. This is Doctor Shepard, and Doctor Robbins. Doctor Shepard's my best friend of a long time, he's basically your uncle since I don't have any siblings, he's a neurosurgeon. And Doctor Robbins is our head of pediatric surgery, and she's one of the mothers of your half sister, Sofia, the two year old."

"One of them?" Ali repeated in confusion, shutting her eyes at the pain.

"We can tell you the story later, once we get you feeling better, sweetie," Arizona said, "Mark, you need to go with the social worker and get her admitted to the peds floor," She said, "Lexie, Derek, and I can stay with her, while you go."

"Is that ok?" Mark asked her, reluctant to leave.

Still somewhat out of it, Ali nodded as Kevin came in with a wheelchair.

"I'll be back soon," He promised, and hesitated, before kissing her forehead, and getting up, hurrying with Julie to get her admitted.

"Ok, Ali," Lexie says, "Doctor Robbins and I are going to help you up into the wheelchair, ok?"

Ali nods, and Arizona and Lexie gently help her stand, supporting either side of her small frame, and help lower her into the wheelchair. "What's going to happen?" Ali asks, still kind of out of it, her head in pain and feeling dizzy as Arizona takes the handles of the wheelchair, and pushed her out of the room, Lexie and Derek following closely.

"Doctor Grey," Kevin said, running back up with a folder, "The CT for Alexa."

"Thank you," Lexie says in relief, "Hopefully this right here will tell us, Ali." She answers her gently, pulling it out. Arizona pauses in the hallway, and the three doctors all gather to look at the scans, Lexie holding them up to the light.

"There's a bleed and some swelling," Derek murmurs, pointing it out, "It's minor right now, it can be taken care of easily."

"By who, though?" Arizona asks, "There's no way Mark will let just anyone do it, and you still can't."

"I will." Lexie says. "I can do the surgery, I've done it before."

"Surgery?" Ali repeats, scared, "On my head? My brain?"

"Let's get you to a room, Ali, then we can explain better, ok?" Arizona asks, taking hold of the handles again, and they all head the remaining fifty feet to the pediatrics wing. Arizona leads the way to an empty private room, telling the nurse to alert Mark where they are when he shows up. Lexie and Arizona help her from the wheelchair to the bed so she'll be more comfortable, and by the time that she's comfortably laying down, Mark and Julie arrive.

"Ok, Ali, you're admitted as a patient," Mark says, "But I won't leave you alone, here, don't worry."

Holdings the bedsheets in her fists, pale and nervous, plus overwhelmed at all that had happened in such a short time she nodded. "Ok," she whispered.

"Ali, don't be scared," Lexie said gently, "I know that brain surgery sounds scary, but it's a really easy procedure."

"Wait, brain surgery? What's wrong?" Mark panicked.

"There's a minor bleed, and swelling," Derek asked when his best friend turned to him.

"How minor?" Owen asked the question on the tip of Mark's tongue, as he walked in.

"It's an easy fix." Derek said.

"Ok, I'll page Doctor Nelson." Owen nodded.

"No!" Lexie said, the same time as Mark.

"No?" Owen questioned, "Shepard can't do it, who else is there?"

"I don't know, but I barley know the guy, you think I'm going to let him operate on my kid?" Mark asks.

"Yea, Sloan, I expect you to be like any other parent that brings their kid into this hospital. You think they're best friends with Derek, or Arizona, or whichever of our doctors operates on their child? No, they barely know them, and they trust them with their kid's lives!" Owen stated.

"Maybe so, Hunt, but I'm not like any other parent that brings their kid to this hospital! I know people here, and even those parents choose to bring their kids here." Mark said. "I just got her back, Owen," He said after a pause. "I can't trust her life to anyone."

"There's no one else that can do the surgery, Mark." Owen said, gentler.

"Doctor Grey can." Derek said. "I've been training her for the past five plus years, I know she's got the skill. She's done it before."

"It's a conflict of interest, and you know it," Owen said back, before Mark could voice his agreement.

"Yea, but technically it's not! Legally, at this point in time, Mark isn't even recognized as her father, which means I'm not her soon to be step-mother, so really, there's no conflict of interest!" Lexie says, quickly adding, "Sir," when Owen looks over at her.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Owen looked from Lexie, to Derek, to Mark, to Arizona, then back again. He was about to say no again, when from behind them, Ali's soft voice said, "I want Doctor Grey to do it." When they all turned to look at her, her face flushed. "A lot has happened to me in my life that I had no control over," She said softly, her head still aching, "And so if anyone is going to cut my head open and go inside my brain or whatever, I want it to be Doctor Grey if doctor Shepard can't do it."

"If possible, Chief Hunt, I want Alexa's choice honored. She is the patient, and she's been through a lot." Julie says. "Please."

"Fine. Grey, make sure she gets prepped for surgery." Owen sighs, "You can have OR three in thirty minutes."

"Thank you," Julie, Lexie, Ali, and Mark all say at the same time, and Owen just nods, leaving the room.

"How long will I be in the hospital?" Ali says quietly.

"At least five days," Arizona says, "So we can make sure you're really ok after the surgery."

"Will you have to shave my head?" She grimaces.

"A little bit, at least, where I have to go in," Lexie says gently, "But it will be in an area that's easy to cover, and I'll try to do as little as possible. I promise."

Ali gives her a small smile. "Thanks."

Lexie smiles and nods. "I have to go get ready for surgery. I'm going to send someone to get you ready, and I'll see you in the operating room, before you go to sleep, ok?"

Ali nods, "Ok. Thanks."

"I'll be right back," Mark says gently to Ali, before walking just outside the door with Lexie. "You're really sure about this, Lex? About doing this together?"

"Yes," She said firmly. "I promise, Mark. I'm not running, not this time. This morning seems like ages ago, but like I said this morning, we both almost faced not having one another. I know what it's like to not be with you, and I know I don't want that. I want to get married in two months and be with you forever, and I want to give Ali a chance to have a good family."

"I love you," Is all he can say, wrapping his arms around her, kissing her. "I love you, Lexie, and I don't know what I'd have done if you said no."

"I love you, too," Lexie says, hugging him back, kissing him back. "But before we can celebrate, I need to go make sure her brain stops bleeding. So once I successfully do the surgery, we'll celebrate and figure things out. Ok?"

"Ok." Mark nods, kissing her quickly again. "Make sure you fix her, ok? I need her to be ok."

"I know," She nods, "I will. I promise." She said, knowing she was never supposed to promise life.

He nodded, and snuck one more quick kiss, before letting her go. "Go be a surgeon," He said. "I love you."

"Love you too!" She called, hurrying in the direction of the OR. Mark turned and went back into the hospital room, where Arizona and Derek were finishing taking vitals, as Arizona was talking.

"...she's just started talking a lot now, she can say mama and momma, and dada, and a lot of other random words. She loves people, and I'm sure she'll love you," She was smiling, talking to Ali.

"I get to meet her?" Ali asks, and is met with a strange look from Arizona.

"Of course you will, sweetie, she's your sister."

"I-I know," Ali says, not noticing Mark still. "I just still can't believe that they really want me."

"Of course we do." Mark says. "I don't blame you, not believing it, with your past," He says, sitting in the chair by her bed, gently taking her hand. "But I promise, I will show you we mean it. I won't be going anywhere, Alexa. I'm your dad, and I'm going to be your dad. I'll be with you every step of the way in the hospital, and once the court says its ok, you'll come live with Lexie and I. We live in an apartment across from Arizona and Callie, Sofia's other mom right now, while we build a house. When we move to the house, you'll live with us there too, and you'll have your own room. The house is near Derek's, and his wife and Lexie's sister Meredith. They have a daughter, your cousin." Mark said, "You'll have a family, a real family, and I will always be there for you. I'll always protect you."

Mark was near tears as he rambled, and Ali was crying. "You promise?" She sobs, still in disbelief, but letting herself start to open up to the thought.

"I promise," He nods, sincerely. "Your life is going to be different from here on out. Way different. I'll take care of you, Ali, Lexie and I will. Try as best as you can to trust me, ok?"

"Ok," Ali said through her tears after a moment, reaching up to get the hug that got cut short by her seizure before.

He held her, hugging her for the full two minutes before Kevin came to get her to run a few tests, before taking her down to surgery. When he let go, he kissed her forehead gently. "I'll be here when you wake up, ok? We can talk more later."

"Ok." She nodded. "Do you think that I could meet her soon? Sofia, I mean. I've always wanted a little sister. I dreamed of having one, if I didn't live with who I did." She said, the truth.

"Of course," Mark said, a promise. "As soon as you feel up to it. Now go kill this surgery, and I'll be here after. I love you, Ali." He said. "I do."

She smiled, still crying as she was wheeled away, and Mark watched her go, overwhelmed, but sure that this was right.


End file.
